NEWTON, Iowa -- When Maytag Corp. needed a new chief executive, observers made two predictions: The job would go to Leonard A. Hadley. And Mr. Hadley, who was known as the loyal and unimaginative lieutenant of a less-than-dazzling chief executive, would be dull.

The job did go to Mr. Hadley, then a 58-year-old accountant who had joined Maytag straight out of college. But something happened once he got it: He became a bit hyperactive. Within weeks of taking over in January 1993, he fired a slew of managers. Calling the...